Magellan Asset Management Ltd Sells 471,737 Shares of American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK)

Magellan Asset Management Ltd decreased its position in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) by 74.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 159,718 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 471,737 shares during the quarter. Magellan Asset Management Ltd owned 0.08% of American Water Works worth $19,883,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank bought a new position in American Water Works in the 4th quarter valued at $294,524,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of American Water Works by 120.7% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,174,395 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $395,180,000 after purchasing an additional 1,736,258 shares in the last quarter. Groupama Asset Managment raised its stake in American Water Works by 4,227.0% in the third quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 711,927 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $104,000 after buying an additional 695,474 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in American Water Works in the 4th quarter worth approximately $71,120,000. Finally, Amundi lifted its stake in shares of American Water Works by 11.9% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 4,490,423 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $553,687,000 after buying an additional 477,411 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.58% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of American Water Works from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of American Water Works from $147.00 to $128.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on American Water Works from $133.00 to $142.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $141.86.

American Water Works Stock Performance

NYSE AWK opened at $146.24 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $28.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.13, a PEG ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.69. The business’s 50 day moving average is $134.44 and its two-hundred day moving average is $134.38. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 12-month low of $113.34 and a 12-month high of $152.07. The company has a current ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The utilities provider reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.13 by $0.09. American Water Works had a return on equity of 10.29% and a net margin of 22.44%. The company had revenue of $1.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.11 billion. Research analysts expect that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 5.71 EPS for the current year.

About American Water Works

American Water Works Company, Inc, through its subsidiaries, provides water and wastewater services in the United States. It offers water and wastewater services to approximately 1,700 communities in 14 states serving approximately 3.5 million active customers. The company serves residential customers; commercial customers, including food and beverage providers, commercial property developers and proprietors, and energy suppliers; fire service and private fire customers; industrial customers, such as large-scale manufacturers, mining, and production operations; public authorities comprising government buildings and other public sector facilities, such as schools and universities; and other utilities and community water and wastewater systems.